Episode 69: Splendid Little Wars: False Flags

Apparently, ‘absolutely nothing,’ may have been a bit of an understatement. Teddy Roosevelt felt every generation of Americans needed its war to build its character. Manufacturing for the Second World War kind of saved the economy. War was basically what won American independence. Also, it freed enslaved people throughout the American South. We think of international allies in terms of their willingness to stand in battle with us. —Most of us do, at least (we love you Australia)— We threaten war against those who break treaties or violate human rights. Politically and practically, war can be very useful. But, would any government, anywhere ever create an attack out of whole cloth, just to sell its own citizens on the idea of war? Join us this week as we take a look at the legends of false flag operations and the history of American paranoia.